In the weeks leading up to the free agency signing period last summer, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur reflected on the organization’s future.

What, he was asked, did he think about the possibility of Zach Parise leaving for another club?

“I hope Zach stays,” Brodeur said at the time. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll keep playing. Zach, along with Kovy, are the faces of this franchise. And they will be for a long time.”

Or so it seemed.

Parise, of course, left last summer to sign a 13-year, $98 million contract with the Minnesota Wild. And yesterday Kovalchuk retired as an NHL player with the desire to return to Russia and play in the KHL.

In between, David Clarkson became an ex-Devil when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs one week ago.

The 2013-14 season was going to be a major challenge for the Devils regardless of what happened in this offseason. They missed the playoffs last season and now the Detroit Red Wings, along with an up-and-coming Columbus Blue Jackets team, are joining the Eastern Conference.

Can the Devils really even be considered a playoff team now?

“Yes. Losing Clarkie was also another tough thing for the organization, but Lou immediately was pro-active and made some key acquisitions after that. I think that is exactly what you’re going to see here (following the Kovalchuk bombshell),” captain Bryce Salvador said. “I have a lot of respect for Kovy for giving the organization ample time to adjust to this.”

The Devils, more than any NHL team in recent years, have been the victims of home sickness. There was coach Brent Sutter quitting in June of 2009 before his contract was up to go home to Red Deer, Alberta.

Then it was Parise going home to Minnesota, Clarkson wanting to play in his hometown for his favorite boyhood team and now Kovalchuk proving that his desire to stay in Russia after the end of the NHL lockout last January weren’t quotes embellished by reporters.

“Obviously he was very well-liked in the dressing room. People wanted to have him around,” Salvador said of Kovalchuk. “We’re going to miss him on and off the ice, but we have to look forward. Worrying about it isn’t going to help us.”
Had he known that Kovalchuk would be leaving, might Patrik Elias have decided not to re-sign with the Devils last week?

“Probably not. I don’t think it would have had an impact,” Elias said. “For me the decision (to stay with the Devils) was bigger than one guy.”

Sooner or later, some younger stars will become the faces of the Devils. For now, it seems, the faces of the franchise remain Brodeur and Elias, aging but still dedicated to being Devils for the long haul.

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In his 11 NHL seasons, Kovalchuk made the playoffs just four times. The closest he got to a Stanley Cup was 2012 when the Devils went to the Final.